While our attention has been diverted by the foiled terrorist plot in Britain and the continuing conflict between Israel and Lebanon, the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq has exceeded 2,600. One of the recent casualties, Carlton Clark, was just 22 years old and hailed from the small town of Sharon, Vermont (estimated population: 1,384). Here, briefly, is what the Burlington Free Press had to say about this young man last week:

Carlton Clark was a quiet but friendly teen who was “full of sunshine� in high school in South Royalton. The lanky distance runner joined the Army so he could go to college and grew as much in confidence as he did in size, even before he was deployed to Iraq last fall.

Clark, a 22-year-old sergeant from Sharon, was killed Sunday in Baghdad when a bomb exploded near his Humvee as his unit worked to recover a broken-down vehicle, the military announced Tuesday.

People who knew, taught and were close to Clark in the Upper Valley towns were devastated.

“Oh, my God! His poor parents!� English teacher Susan Keefe said on learning of the death of her former student.

Keefe, a teacher for 18 years at South Royalton High School, inhaled deeply and seemed to fight back tears. After a moment she was able to describe a young man who clearly stood out in her memory.

“He was just full of sunshine, and he attracted a lot of people because of that. He was the nicest kid. Cheerful. Helpful. He had the prettiest red hair,â€? Keefe said. “There’s just something awful in the world if he’s not in it.â€? [full text]